Cortex Constructor

lore

A cortex constructor is a device that interprets recorded brain
state information and reconstructs the neural pathways for memories and
intelligence in inert clones. The development
of the cortex constructor was a vital part of allowing cloning to be a
viable method of death avoidance.

Development

The cortex constructor was first developed in YC 27 by researchers in
the Lai Dai Corporation. At the time,
neural scanner technology had already been developed several years
earlier, but methods of utilizing its data to reconstruct a brain were
crude. Early methods relied on physical nanotech sculpting of the brain.
This was a lengthy process and often led to scarification of the gray
matter, causing a myriad of neurological problems.

The solution was no great breakthrough, but rather a combination of a
number of preexisting technologies. The exact combination of them,
however, was innovative and creative. The earliest cortex constructor
was still relatively crude, being capable of only recovering
approximately 50% of a brain's memories. Further refinement over the
years gradually increased the reliability of the constructor, to where
now nearly 100% of a patient's memories can be reliably copied.

Technology

Once a clone is bought, a thorough brain scan is made of the client to
determine the shape of the brain and the placement of nerve cell nuclei.
Then a three dimensional gel structure that matches the shape of the
client's brain is constructed.

The cranium is constructed by seeding this gel structure (heavily
impregnated with nutrients and inactivated growth factors) with nerve
cells and glia, in accordance with information from the brain scan.
Bound to the growth factors are molecular receptors that are coupled
(using FTL-communication technology) to molecules placed in the
customer's burning scanner. After seeding, the gel structure is
suspended until the final moment of the original. As the burning scan is
made, the molecules bound to the inactivated growth factors become
unstable and cause activation of the growth factors by cleavage. The
activation is an exothermic process which produces sufficient heat to
melt pathways into the gel model of the brain. Thus dendrite paths in
the model will be the same as in the original's brain, their growth
fueled by the activated growth factors

This process alone is not sufficient for an exact replica of the
original's brain. The precise shape of the dendrites and the
potentiation level of the synapse, which together determine memories and
skills, have to be fine tuned through a neural link. Impulses are sent
through the link to stimulate further growth and shaping of the
dendrites, until they fill in the paths formed with the activation
process. In the final stages of this tuning, as the clone regains
consciousness, potentiation at synapses is quickly adjusted to recorded
levels, generating a feeling often described as one of memories "coming
back."